Darvish shelled, Padres battle back but Cardinals win 9-7
Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Busch Stadium- St. Louis, Missouri
Coming off a disappointing series loss to the Marlins, the San Diego Padres traveled west to St. Louis to battle the Cardinals.
Humidity was a factor in the game as temperatures on the field easily felt in excess of 100 degrees.
No excuses for the Padres, as they simply did not play well on Thursday. The team was 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position, as offensive woes are still an issue.
Yu Darvish took the mound for the Padres, and despite being spotted a two-run lead in the first, the veteran coughed up seven earned runs before recording the sixth out of the game. St. Louis took a 7-2 lead, and things looked bleak for the Padres. In recent weeks, the offense has been stagnant.
San Diego immediately responded in the top of the third inning, though, as Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado homered off Sonny Gray to bring the game to 7-5. The Tatis’ homer was only his fourth dinger in the last two months of the season. Tatis went 3-for-5 in the game, passing Steve Finley for 18th all-time on the Padres’ hit list. The Padres desperately need Tatis to heat up.
Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado go deep and the @Padres are right back in this game 👀 pic.twitter.com/L344TNca51
— MLB (@MLB) July 25, 2025
Darvish would go 3 1/3 innings in total and allow eight runs on eight hits. He walked two batters and struck out three in the 69 pitches thrown. He did not have his best stuff, and there was a noticeable dip in his overall fastball velocity.
Sonny Gray was knocked out after five innings, allowing 11 hits and six earned runs (seven in total) in 84 pitches. Gray also struggled in the game. It looked to be a pitcher’s duel before first pitch, but both offenses broke out in a big way.
With the score 8-7 Cardinals through five complete innings, it would come down to a battle of the bullpens.
Ivan Herrera took Wandy Peralta deep in the bottom of the sixth inning to make the score 9-7.
The St. Louis relievers held the Padres in check as the offense simply could not get a rally going after Gray exited the game. Riley O’Brien, JoJo Romero, and Phil Maton only allowed one hit and one walk in three shutout innings for the Cardinals.
Ryan Helsley came on for the Cardinals in the ninth inning, in search of his 20th save of the season. The right-handed pitcher allowed a single to Manny Machado to lead off the inning, but then went 1-2-3 in securing the win for St. Louis.
Up Next:
The Padres and Cardinals battle in game two on Friday afternoon.
The first pitch is scheduled for 4:45 p.m. PT.
Nick Pivetta (10-2, 2.81 ERA) is set to battle Miles Mikolas (5-7, 5.20 ERA)
James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. James has written about the Padres and their prospects for over a decade. He also writes about San Diego State as well as other local sports. James is the Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.